Is it bad for email deliverability to not have an unsubscribe link?

Email marketer from Litmus explains that providing a clear and easy-to-find unsubscribe link is a legal requirement under CAN-SPAM and other regulations. Non-compliance can lead to significant penalties and damage sender reputation, affecting deliverability.

Email marketer from Reddit explains that not including an unsubscribe link will cause users to mark email as spam, and reduce your sender reputation.

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign explains that providing easy ways for people to unsubscribe, and honoring those requests as quickly as possible, will reduce spam complaints and ensure your deliverability remains healthy.

Email marketer from StackExchange states that while a one-click unsubscribe is preferred, offering alternative methods like replying to the email with 'unsubscribe' is better than no option at all, helping avoid spam complaints.

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that an unsubscribe should be easy to find, even suggesting putting it at the top to reduce complaints in extreme cases.

Email marketer from Email Geeks argues that not having the word unsubscribe is bad for deliverability because people might not know how to opt-out and therefore mark as spam.

Email marketer from Constant Contact explains that, even if they don't see an unsubscribe link, some email recipients may flag your message as spam because they're not interested in the content, hurting your sender reputation.

Email marketer from Email On Acid answers shares that providing an unsubscribe link shows that you respect your subscribers' preferences, ultimately building trust and a healthier email list.

Email marketer from Mailchimp explains that including an unsubscribe link is crucial because recipients who can't easily unsubscribe are more likely to mark the email as spam, negatively affecting deliverability.

Email marketer from HubSpot explains that an unsubscribe link helps to keep your list clean. If you don't allow people to unsubscribe easily, they'll mark your emails as spam. Over time, if you get marked as spam too often, email providers will start sending your emails to the junk folder instead of the inbox.

Email marketer from SendGrid shares that including an unsubscribe link is essential for maintaining a positive sender reputation. Senders without a clear unsubscribe option risk higher spam complaints and decreased deliverability.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that there will always be people who want no more emails from you, so if you don't give them a way to clearly unsubscribe, they'll mark as spam, impacting deliverability.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that not having an unsubscribe mechanism in your emails is a bad idea. People will mark your mail as spam if they don't have any other options, affecting your delivery. The amount of spam marking greatly impacts deliverability.

Documentation from ietf.org details the List-Unsubscribe header field, which provides a standardized way for users to unsubscribe from mailing lists. Absence of this or a similar mechanism leads to user frustration and potential spam complaints, harming deliverability.

Documentation from Microsoft details how high complaint rates reported through its Smart Network Data Services (SNDS) negatively affect deliverability to Outlook and Hotmail users. Providing an accessible unsubscribe mechanism can reduce these complaints.

Documentation from Google explains that a high spam rate (users marking emails as spam) negatively impacts sender reputation and deliverability to Gmail users. Absence of an unsubscribe mechanism increases the likelihood of spam complaints.

Documentation from Yahoo details the need for a list-unsubscribe header and easily visible unsubscribe link for all bulk email senders, stating mail without these mechanisms may be subjected to more rigorous filtering by Yahoo.